Renewed Selling Pressure Predicted For Malaysia Stock Market

The Malaysia stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had gathered more than 7 points or 0.5 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,430-point plateau although it figures to head south again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower, with profit taking expected amid concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down, and the Asian markets are tipped to trend generally lower as well.

The KLCI finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the plantations and mixed performances from the financials, telecoms and glove makers.

For the day, the index gained 11.10 points or 0.78 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,429.54 after moving as low as 1,416.71. Volume was 2.401 billion shares worth 1.276 billion ringgit. There were 517 gainers and 334 decliners.

Among the actives, Axiata gained 1.14 percent, while CIMB Group collected 0.79 percent, Dialog Group rallied 3.03 percent, Digi.com dropped 0.88 percent, Genting sank 0.43 percent, Genting Malaysia declined 1.75 percent, Hartalega Holdings tumbled 2.53 percent, IHH Healthcare fell 0.16 percent, INARI spiked 3.97 percent, IOI Corporation climbed 2.31 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong jumped 2.70 percent, Maybank eased 0.12 percent, MISC strengthened 2.36 percent, Petronas Chemicals advanced 1.36 percent, PPB Group accelerated 3.67 percent, Press Metal surged 4.53 percent, Public Bank lost 0.23 percent, RHB Capital rose 0.35 percent, Sime Darby added 1.35 percent, Sime Darby Plantations improved 2.21 percent, Telekom Malaysia increased 1.87 percent, Tenaga Nasional shed 0.50 percent, Top Glove soared 4.52 percent and Maxis, MRDIY and Nestle were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up negative as the major averages couldn’t hold on to early gains, sinking as the day progressed to close firmly in the red.

The Dow tumbled 215.65 points or 0.69 percent to finish at 31,072.61, while the NASDAQ sank 92.37 points or 0.81 percent to end at 11,360.05 and the S&P 500 lost 32.31 points or 0.84 percent to close at 3,830.85.

The early strength on Wall Street came as traders continued to pick up stocks at reduced levels, while positive sentiment was also generated in reaction to upbeat earnings news from Goldman Sachs (GS) and others.

Buying interest waned over the course of the session, however, as traders continued to worry about the economic outlook ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve meeting.

In U.S. economic news, the National Association of Home Builders released a report showing a substantial deterioration in U.S. homebuilder confidence in the month of July.

Crude oil prices rose sharply Monday with traders assessing crude supply levels amid concerns over gas supply from Russia. A weak dollar also contributed significantly to the jump in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for August ended higher by $5.01 or 5.1 percent at $102.60 a barrel.